So....may be giving this a shot...

[Skatter]

So....I may just bite the bullet and go EVO.

Here's my story. My decrepit old Blackberry Curve needed replacement, and so I figured I'd go Android. Was very excited, and snagged a Samsung Moment from Walmart.

Loved the phone. Worked like a dream, did everything I wanted it to do...but the battery life was incredibly unimpressive, even with task killer, autosync/wifi/gps/etc off. I had it in my desk drawer at work with EVERYTHING off except the actual antenna, and the battery dropped from 100% to 70% in three hours.

Sooo...I took it back to Walmart and just snagged a nice Blackberry Curve 8530, which is neat. I'm a Blackberry fan, and it hasn't failed me yet.

But the siren call of the EVO 4G is calling me...and I'm wondering if the battery issues (which I've read about, of course) are still as prevalent. i.e. if I stick the EVO in my desk drawer at work with similar settings, is it going to batterydrain like my Moment did?

If so...I'll stick with my Blackberry and give it another year before I jump to Android. Please don't get me wrong, I very much like the platform. But it seems like the batteries are the weak point. Of course, with any smartphone the battery will ALWAYS be the weak point, but I need a phone that won't batterydrain while doing absolutely nothing except checking for incoming calls. >.<

Thanks!

 

[ocnbrze]

no drain for me. i have had my evo for almost two weeks and i still cannot put it down. it is 8:30pm and i have 42% left with a lot of web surfing, reading a book from my kindle app, and playing some games(careful though some games can be a battery drain), texting and talking on the phone. so i'd say go for it. you have 30 days to play with it and you can return if you are not happy with it.

 

[RaiseUp151z]

I am sure u won't like the battery life...but the rest of the phone is great. I just made things easier by getting a extra battery don't have to worry about connecting it all the time.

 

[Skatter]

See, that's the thing. My Blackverry (either of them) has never *needed* an extra battery. Granted, its not capable of doing as much as an EVO, but still.

I charge it every night, and I'm totally fine with doing that. But I need a phone that, with light to moderate usage, will make it through a day. And I'm not sure I want to presume on Walmart's generosity even more with my constant phone returning.

I'll give it more thought....

 

[jgalan14]

I own a couple of blackberry phones in the past and loved them favorite was the touch one from Verizon and the battery is nothing compare to evo but then again the evo does way more (besides email compare to blackberry ) I had the moment and I can tell you battery was worse then the evo, anyways I own those phones and you will be please with the evo never want to go back to another phone

 

[stainlessray]

i had the knockoff to blackberry for 2 years, and frequently didn't have to charge for 2 plus days. i wouldn't trade that for what the evo does if it were free to do so. not even if you paid my 2 year contract including the data fee. hate this battery, freakin LOVE this phone.

 

[Cobravision]

See, that's the thing. My Blackverry (either of them) has never *needed* an extra battery. Granted, its not capable of doing as much as an EVO, but still.

Well, that's the thing. You have to keep this in perspective -- the BB didn't do anything well but take calls and email. The Evo does a hundred more things, and all of them well, so even if the Evo had the same standby rating, the Evo would drain faster just because it would be used more.

If the battery issue is the only thing that's stopping you, then save yourself a headache and get a second battery because they're relatively cheap (I remember paying $50 for my spare Treo battery back in the day) and you won't get at all panicked when see that battery warning pop-up.

 

[Dreamliner]

BB's are bulletproof....the web browser does suck tho...

The EVO's battery lasts quite a while if you follow the guide in my sig. I use my phone heavy and I never shut off WiFi. It makes it though the day just fine.

BB OS 6 looks awesome, I might be tempted if the Storm 3 hits Sprint.

 

[84guy]

with moderate use i can get my evo to last a couple days. overnight(8 or so hours) it drops about 2-3 percent

 

[Caloy]

Light to moderate use is relative. My light to moderate use may not necessarily equate to your light to moderate use. I use my evo as an mp3 player at work using my bluetooth stereo headsets, 2 or 3 phone calls, a more than 10 text messages, about 10 minutes in facebook. At the end of the day I still have around 40-60% (it varies) of battery life when i get home. My settings are as follows:

Mobile = On
Wifi = Off
GPS = Off
4G = Off
Hotspot = Off
Bluetooth = On
Profile = Normal.

You can also buy Seidio's 3500 mAh extended battery if you don't like to swap out batteries.

 

[BKBitar]

Battery sucks plain and simple. You will need an extra battery and probably a battery dock charger. I take all the steps that people say to use to save battery and barely get a day, if that. And I haven't even used 4g yet it hasn't come too boston.

 

[Skatter]

Well, my light to moderate use over a 10 hour work day:

Perhaps hourly Twitter/email/light web browsing, reading an ebook on my 2 breaks or 1 lunch (assuming I didn't bring my iPad with me to work that day...no anti-Apple comments, please. ) etc. Fairly light usage compared to most. No 4G in my area, so that won't be a factor. I figure basically when I'm at work, I'll have everything but the actual "phone" bit of it off, only turning on sync when I'm actually on break and such.

I don't count days I'm off work, because whenever I'm at home my phone is barely used...I have my computer and iPad for the heavy-duty stuff. But I have a regular iPod Classic for my at-work music/audiobook needs. So I guess the question is this...if you just leave the EVO sitting for a few hours, no background apps running and just the actual cell radio running...will it battery drain like my Moment did?

From the responses I'm seeing, the answer is no. And therefore, I do believe I may be snagging an EVO tomorrow on payday! My Best Buy has the white-backed ones in stock...not a huge fan of that, but still. Heck, maybe I'll luck out and my Walmart'll have some EVOs in stock as well...

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions, folks. I'll keep them in mind, though my natural inertia might just make me keep the Blackberry and wait another 12 months till my next upgrade to see what new shiny gadgets are out by then.

Much obliged!

 

[I want my EVO]

I had the same battery issues that everyone is having when i got it launch day. But if you follow the tips and tricks that have been posted then you should be fine.

Some days i have heavy usage (playing games (Caligo Chaser), Browse the web (hour or 2 during work), listen to MP3s or Slacker Radio (2 hours)) and be around 20 to30 percent when i leave work. If i didnt play that game then i would be around 60 percent.

On my light usage days (check email and very few Texts) i would be at 75% or so after 9 hours of standby.

I just got my gf a HTC hero. Her battery life sucked from the start. No usage during work and being at 12% left. I did the same battery tricks and now its lasting her work day and having 70% left.

Just remember, Checking email every 5 min and having your weather, Facebook, Twitter and any other connection constantly syncing will chew your battery.

My settings are:
Weather (Manually update)
E-Mail (Manually Check)
Screen Brightness (40%)
Auto Sync Turned Off (Google, News, Stocks, Weather)
Background Data is on
GPS is always on
Blue Tooth is always off
4G is always off
Wifi is on ONLY when i need it. (There was a bug in the OTA that made it stay up and not sleep if this is turned on, or so the rumor goes)

I love this phone and since iv done the battery tips/ tricks its gotten only better.

 

[hendodo]

The battery sucks! The ones that's telling u otherwise is either rooted or just lucked out...If battery life is your concern then keep the BB

 

[Rigmaster]

Evo's battery is average. All the complaints just are denials of the fact that it consumes battery when used heavily. In Airplane mode, it lasts quite a while. If you want to use the best phone available, you have to accept recharging - no other way to look at it. The user experience to me has been well worth it.

The battery issue is compounded by the fact that it appears that the fixes will come from none other than software fixes by both HTC and Android 2.2 (Froyo).

If other phones had the same capabilities as Evo, they'd have the exact same issue because there is no magic secret in battery technology. Battery tech has to change for phones to get true 24-hour power at full/heavy use.

 

[I want my EVO]

The battery sucks! The ones that's telling u otherwise is either rooted or just lucked out...If battery life is your concern then keep the BB

Not rooted here. Just did the tricks. Call it luck if you want but i am more then happy with what i have.

Also, im coming from a BB Pearl and BB Tour. I loved RIM products but when i saw this i had to have it. The features on this will blow away any RIM product available right now.

To the OP, dont forget there is a 30 day exchange period when you get a new phone. At least with RS there is. So get the Evo, try it for 2 weeks and if its not what you like or isnt the battery life you expected then go with the BB.

 

[RetiredFinally]

I have had my Evo over a month and still can not put it down for long! It is an amazing phone and if you root and run Fresh or another rom you will see better battery life and speed. It really does so much more, better and faster that my old curve it is just hard to not play with constantly!

 

[Rigmaster]

I can live with it a few more weeks until Froyo is released. Rooting's not for all Android noobs.

 

[braxx]

On a side note. Putting your phone in a desk drawer could very well be what caused the battery drain. My mother works at a place that provides employees lockers for there personal items. When she had a regular cell phone ( non smart phone ) it had no battery drain issueswhile in the locker. She switched to my Treo Pro and the battery would drop 50% just sitting in a locker. I made sure it wasn't syncing too often or anything like that but it still would drain the battery. I told her to not put it in the locker and to just carry it in her pocket for a day or two. She stopped putting it in the locker and the drain problem stopped. I think it had too low of a signal in the locker so the phone was trying to find additional towers or something and was killing the battery.

 

[Rigmaster]

On a side note. Putting your phone in a desk drawer could very well be what caused the battery drain. My mother works at a place that provides employees lockers for there personal items. When she had a regular cell phone ( non smart phone ) it had no battery drain issueswhile in the locker. She switched to my Treo Pro and the battery would drop 50% just sitting in a locker. I made sure it wasn't syncing too often or anything like that but it still would drain the battery. I told her to not put it in the locker and to just carry it in her pocket for a day or two. She stopped putting it in the locker and the drain problem stopped. I think it had too low of a signal in the locker so the phone was trying to find additional towers or something and was killing the battery.

Low signal and in some cases temperature extremes. I've worked in places with lockers that still got very hot or very cold because despite being indoors they were so close to the entrance/exit the temp was always high in summer and low in winter.

If Evo's just going to be sitting in a desk or locker, Airplane mode is perfect - uses very little power and once switched off, the phone will fetch data and other updates.

 

[Skatter]

Oh, I fully acknowledge that being in the drawer DOES draw power. But again, I had my old Moment in that drawer with no syncing at all going on...and the battery drop was disturbing. The old Blackberry wouldn't drop more than 15-20% under the same circumstances for the entire day, versus the 30% drop for the moment after 3 hours. >.<

However...I AM getting the EVO today. I already returned my BB Curve, and will be on the way to Best Buy in the next 15 minutes to go snag my white-backed one. What can I say...I actually like the look. Go figure!

Thanks for all the feedback and advice, folks. Joining the EVO community, and I won't even mind paying the extra $10 a month.

 

[hendodo]

Put it like this...If battery life wasn't an issue then it wouldn be top discussion in every forum,newsletter, review etc...Like i said...some lucked out but most/ majority of our battery life sucks...and yes i've done all the *Tips and tricks*

 

[J03]

I'm shocked at the people angry that they can't make it through a workday. I can't either but that is no reason to avoid a phone altogether. If you have a desk at work then i bet you have a computer too. Buy a usb cable for a couple bucks and leave it at work. Problem solved. Buy a cheap car charger and leave it in the car. I don't think there is ever a circumstance where I'm not near an outlet, laptop, or car.

 

[Skatter]

Snagged my EVO! And even got one with a black back, the Best Buy in West Des Moines, IA had both in stock, and I'm quite happy with it! Even just popped in the 16 GB microsd card in my blackberry and it found all my music, pictures, etc.

And now the Kindle app is installed, and I'm content. Thanks for everything, folks!

 

[braxx]

Good deal. Please post in this thread about your battery. ( no need to add any more " 'my battery suck's " threads) I'm interested to see if your battery drains quickly.
My EVO has been off of the charger for 5hrs now. I've. Surged for 30 min , I've replied to this thread on it. 5 emails sent, 10th or so text messages. I'm still at around 80% battery left . I can easy get through a 16 _ 18hr day with 30% battery left.